Minister of Public Health, Dr. Firas Al-Abyad, chaired a meeting at the Government House of the Committee to Follow up on Preventive Measures and Measures for the Coronavirus, and the meeting reviewed the epidemiological situation in Lebanon in light of the decline in the number of infected people.
Al-Abyad explained, in a press conference that followed the meeting, in which the committee’s decisions were announced, that “the number of people infected with corona registered daily has decreased in the past two weeks, and the percentage of positive tests and the reproductive number that has fallen below one, which are indications that the injuries in Lebanon to more than one. backing down”.
He added, “This is due to a decline in the number of patients admitted to hospitals, and consequently in the occupancy rate of the regular beds or the intensive care beds, as this percentage decreased to less than sixty percent, which is a good number compared to the higher numbers recorded by the occupancy rate in the recent period.” The number of infected arrivals entering Lebanon through its various crossings has also declined, which confirms that the hospital system in Lebanon no longer faces the same danger it faced last year when hospitals were filled with Corona patients and many did not have the opportunity to recover, while the hospital system This year, it was able to absorb injuries that need special treatment without resorting to closing the country or vital facilities and sectors such as the airport or schools. All of the above indicates a decline in the epidemic in our country, similar to what is happening in other countries that decided to ease their procedures.
The Minister of Public Health regretted that “the vaccination rate is estimated at about forty percent (40%), which is much lower than the required figure, as the vaccination rate in countries that have relaxed preventive measures has reached eighty percent (80%).”
Al-Abyad pointed out that “the follow-up committee for preventive measures and measures for the Corona virus continues to stress on maintaining individual and societal protection measures such as masks, especially in crowded and closed places, in parallel with seeking to activate the vaccine campaign to achieve a percentage of sixty percent (60%) at the beginning of the summer.” . He pointed out, “The measures that the Ministry of Health will take in this matter will be announced in due course.”
He announced that “the committee decided to exempt vaccinated immigrants from Lebanon from taking a PCR or antigen test at the borders upon arrival, provided that the last dose of the vaccine does not exceed six months.”
He pointed out that “the attendees decided to request the Infectious Diseases Committee in the Ministry of Public Health to reconsider the protocols in terms of the duration of isolation or examinations to be circulated to all educational and other facilities, and to prepare a proposal for safety procedures to be followed in polling centers in the upcoming parliamentary elections.”
In response to a question, Al-Abyad confirmed that “vaccines are available in a large quantity,” and explained that “reaching the rate of sixty percent of the vaccinated is an important goal to reach in the next stage until the beginning of summer, when large numbers of non-resident Lebanese are expected, as well as Anticipating a new cycle of the pandemic that has not ended, and new mutants may emerge that necessitate maintaining a high degree of preparedness.”